Councillors back in-depth investigation into sediment removal to save 'terminally-ill' Lake Albert

Wagga councillors this week backed a push for an in-depth examination of the issue, and for action to be taken to increase the lake's life expectancy, amid concerns the "important asset" could become more like a wetland within just a few years.

Councillor Georgie Davies - who used a motion to Monday night's council meeting to plead for an action plan - said the sediment is believed to be reducing the depth of the lake, increasing the rate of water evaporation, contributing to blue green algae outbreaks and also affecting native fish populations.

Cr Davies said the latest report on the lake's health - the 2009-2015 Lake Albert Management Plan - revealed that if the body of water was a health patient, its current condition would likely see it "sent home from work with a note stating it was unable to fulfil many of its primary functions".

The same document described the lake as being terminally-ill, while also indicating if the sediment build-up continues it will eventually be lost as a recreation lake and move into the wetlands category, which could happen as soon as 2030.

According to the plan, about one million cubic metres of sediment has accumulated in the lake over time, with the major contributing sources being the Crooked Creek and Stringybark Creek catchments.

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Hydrographic surveys taken in 2015 revealed there was about 0.5 metres of sediment in the centre of the lake and Cr Davies said it could be assumed it would be more concentrated and at a higher level around the creek entrances to the lake.

Cr Davies said it was important to protect the recreational function of the lake and the motion was a proactive step towards taking care of its health.

Councillors will now receive a report outlining the works required to resolve the sediment issue.

The report would include details about the rate of sediment accumulation and its depth, as well as projections of when the sediment build-up will trigger the loss of the lake as a recreational asset.

The investigation would also explore wet or dry dredging of the lake and the sediment catchments, along with the costs associated with doing so.

Council's strategic asset planner for parks and recreation Ben Creighton said initial sonar mapping of the lake would help identify the levels of sediment and the data would be compared with that collected in 2015.

"That'll give us a really good picture of how much sediment's moving in and around the lake and what sort of impact that will have over time," Mr Creighton said.

"This is about identifying what the problem is, or if there is a problem, and the extent of that problem, and then the next step after that would be to identify what the solution is."

Mr Creighton said the council didn't anticipate any issues for people using the lake recreationally and the sediment wouldn't be an issue in the near future.

"It's really a strategic decision to make sure that we're investigating now so that we have an understanding that in the decades to come what potentially could become an issue," he said.

All councillors voted in favour of the investigation and development of an action plan.

Councillor Mick Henderson, who is the commodore of the Wagga Boat Club and a vocal lake advocate, declared a conflict of interest and vacated the chamber during the debate.

Cr Davies said the motion's unanimous backing showed councillors "care about the health of the lake and we want to protect it for future generations".

In voicing his support, Rod Kendall said the council needed up to date information about the issue in order to remedy it.

"We've got a lot of historic information in regards to the lake, but it's just that - it's historic," Cr Kendall said.

"The lake is an important asset."

Cr Kendall said recommendations from the floodplain risk management committee and overland flow studies were that Lake Albert had the potential to be used for flood mitigation purposes.

"So not only is it an important recreation asset, there may well be other additional uses for it - all of which says this type of work is important and needs to be done and knowledge of course is golden, without the knowledge you're making decisions that are blind," he said.

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